I knew Crete had hiking. But I didn’t know Crete had a hiking experience that would make it to my top 5 list!
Samariá boasts a difficult, steep, downhill hike that levels off through an absolutely stunning gorge. The views of Crete’s White Mountains on the bus ride there and the hike down only add to the overall experience. The scenery is unique and varied throughout Samariá. As a national park, there are amenities and clean water the whole way that make it as comfortable and safe as possible, too.
I had very few expectations about this hike except that I was afraid it would be too much of a touristy experience for me. Having to take a bus tour there did not sit with my independent, adventurous style. But I listened to other hikers advice and did it a different way from my usual standard—and it paid off! This hike was perfection from start to finish!
Getting To The Gorge
There are 2 ways to experience and get to Samariá Gorge, even though most places will state there’s only one way.
One option for getting there is self-guided. You’ll need to rent a car and drive yourself to the National Park entrance.
The option to get into Samariá Gorge is by bus. You’ll need to book the bus tour there in advance. We booked just 2 days ahead.
Typically, I’m the type of traveler and nature-explorer that likes to do things completely independently. I don’t like tours. I feel they are often an unnecessary, added expense and usually involve an experience that is cut off from the actual culture and devoid of any real feedom. It’s plainly just not my style.
However, everything I read this time made me reconsider a self-guided trip into this gorge. Self-guided would have meant hiking the 6-hour average hike down and then back up again (16km / 10 mi one way). I would optionally stay overnight in Agia Roumeli, the town by the water at the end. But the return is uphill the entire way back. Uphill the entire way back. THE ENTIRE WAY BACK.
Nope. We were definitely not going to do the uphill part.
On Sunday morning, we woke up with the sun. At 6:10am, we met our Elafonissos travel bus in Chania at Chalidon Street.
There were already many people who were picked up from other locations before us. Meaning, they had to wake up even earlier than we did! Once again, the old town area of Chania proved to be the optimal location!
The bus driver gave us information as we traveled about 2 hours to the gorge. He explained exactly how the hike would go, what safety precautions we should take, the amenities available in the park, and where we would find him to collect our boat tickets at the end.
Along the drive, he also explained a bit about Crete culture, wildlife, farming, and nature. He explained that we were about to drive up and into Crete’s infamous Lefka Ori, or White Mountains. They make up the largest mountain range in Crete. Samariá Gorge National Park was created by a small river that runs through Lefka Ori.
We quickly realized we were sitting on the wrong side of the bus for views of the mountains. The scenery out the left side of the bus during sunrise was amazing. Everyone had their cameras out! Luckily, the windows were big enough for me to still zoom and capture their glory.
We made one stop on the journey there before the start of the trail. This immediately frustrated me. If I was driving myself I would not have stopped and wasted time. But as a tour bus, they had to let people off to use the restroom. It was also an opportunity to bring tourist dollars to a little café there. Indeed, another tour bus pulled up shortly after ours did to let folks spend their money, too.
I wasn’t hungry! (lol)
The bus driver also took this opportunity to collect our €10 for the ferry tickets, checking each of us off his list. In total, the experience cost about €50. Our tickets to book the experience were €34.20 each. We had to pay €5 to enter the park and the €10 ferry ticket back.
We spent about 30 minutes at this café stop. I said to myself it was still worth it—that we made the right decision to take the bus. Luckily, I was right!
I still walked out of the café and away from everyone so I could take in the surrounding views alone. The mountains were beautiful here, too. And I wanted to get away from the touristy atmosphere by putting just a little distance between myself and the bus.
Starting The Hike
We got off the bus and onto a line of people once we arrived at the park entrance. Many other tour buses of people and some self-guided folks were starting the trail at the same time as us now.
I really dislike doing hikes with so many other people on the trail with me. It slows me down! But I tried to remain open-minded and kept telling myself it would be okay to do things different this time. I would be deviating from my typical way of hiking, if you will! ;)
The bus driver told us that the first 6km of the trail would take us on a very steep decline. Starting at 1250m elevation, we would drop 800m in the first 6km of the hike. Then it’s pretty flat and easy going from there down to sea level.
The total length of the hike in Samariá National Park is 13km. Then there is another 3km walk from the end of the trail to the village.
I found the handmade signs throughout the park really charming. The fact that they were not professionally printed made this feel more like an off-the-beaten trail than I expected from a National Park.
There were lots of signs and warnings about what you can and can’t do, which makes sense as a National Park and a World UNESCO Heritage site.
I learned that the Gorge of Samariá National Park is a natural site and symbol of the island of Crete, holding special significance in its history and culture as a symbol of life and place of freedom.
The hike is the most popular hike in all of Greece! With all of this taken into consideration, it’s no wonder they make the extra effort to keep their park clean and protected.
The First View
Heading down, down, down for the first 20 minutes or so, I was already bearing witness to some pretty spectacular views. I could see out across the Lefka Ori range and down at the gorge ahead.
A small viewing platform allowed for me to take the most optimal photos of this view.
The trail ahead was definitely packed with people. We were walking single file most of the way but we made a pass around those who were slower than us. This helped us keep a steady and fairly speedy pace.
The only challenge and potential danger was the uneven ground and sharp rocks in the path along the way. If we lost our footing, we could potentially go down hard. An injury would really ruin our progress.
Miraculously, I only fell two times and both times it was a soft landing!
Resources Along The Way
Luckily, for anyone who is injured on the trail, there is one dominant safety net: Donkeys.
Yes, Greek men on donkeyback are there to save you! Donkeys and men and sometimes both together are found sporadically along the trail.
The donkeys also leave their doo doo droppings along the trail, which is an added challenge to navigate in parts!
The instructions I received in advance of the tour suggested we bring comfortable shoes, hat, swim suit, and small bottle of water. They didn’t suggest 2 liters or more per person which is pretty standard for a hike. The reason is that there are multiple locations along the trail to fill up your water.
Not only is the water crystal clear and clean from the river—there’s even little spouts set up at various rest stops along the way to make refills super easy.
Also along the trail, you’ll be grateful to spot little yellow numbers painted onto rocks. These will count up the number of kilometers you’ve walked until you get to 12, the last one before reaching the end.
If you have to use the restroom, several rest stop include toilets. Well, they include a spot to squat over, at least!
Samaria Nature
During the months of April, May and June, the gorge boasts a beautiful wildflower bloom. These pink flowers speckled the path for the whole journey. It was beautiful, and made me grateful to catch them during the last week of June.
The river running through the gorge also had a beautiful aqua color to it which stood out in contrast to the grey and tan rocks it flowed between and over.
We made our first break for water and a snack in front of a small waterfall where the color of water was incredibly vibrant. I was surprised how vibrant it was even in the shade.
At the early hours in the morning still, we walked mostly in shade through forest or between the gorge cliffs. It was delightful and the sunlight shining through the treetops made the paths feel magical.
I was really obsessed with the trees here, too. They were so different from trees back home. Apparently the forest here is indigenous and natural to Crete—what would have been here way back in history.
I loved the trees’ scraggly branches.
Some trees also had funky shapes and crevices in them that were big enough to sit in!
Other trees had beautiful moss on them and ridges that looked like abstract art up close.
Yes, these trees were amazing, especially set against a backdrop of tall mountains!
Historic Settlement
After this shady part of the trail, the path started to level off. We were finally down that first super steep part! Yay!
This is where the trail opened up. We entered a portion with tons of sun exposure. And now it was about Noon with that blazing midday sun we grew to know and love in Crete!
Along this part of the trail, we came upon the historic settlement of Samariá. A bridge across the gorge brought us there. This was a nice place to explore and it served as another rest stop along the trail.
Continuing past the rest stop, looking left we could see a less restored portion of the settlement. This settlement was displaced in 1962 when Samariá became a National Park.
The Gorgeous Gorge
Further down the trail, we started seeing signs about falling rocks. We were now getting to a portion of the trail in which the cliffs on both sides of us were towering overhead and narrowing.
And that’s when—BAM! The path we were on reached a ledge looking out into the open gorge.
Epic!!!
While Crete has many gorges (so many its referred to as the “land of gorges”), no gorge in Crete is considered as unique and gorgeous as Samariá Gorge. And now I understood why.
We continued to follow trail markers that helped us pick our path through the gorge. But we also found ourselves stopping often to take pictures. It was just so breathtaking!
Photos were sometimes difficult to take because of all of the shadows and bright light I was trying to balance. We would walk mostly in total shadow between the cliffs for a while and then suddenly hit a super exposed part.
It was very nice to cool off in the shadowy parts after that hot sun in other parts!
Rocks, Cliffs, And Bridges
We walked this part of the gorge for a while, heading into various sections that displayed different kinds of natural beauty. Mostly, the walls of the cliffs on each side of the gorge had beautiful markings and patterns of sedimentary rock. They even made unique looking steps in some places.
I couldn’t help but climb and take this as a photo opportunity.
You could see the layers of time and the markings of the water that flowed through here to create the gorge. It was beautiful!
Eventually we reached a point where little wooden bridges stretched back and forth across the river all along the trail.
These bridges were usually small and did not feel super stable! They were, however, fun to cross.
At the bridges were sometimes reminders about No Swimming. There were even signs warning people to keep their feet out of the water.
I have to admit, after all the downhill hiking, my feet were definitely sore, swollen, and sweaty. That cool, clear water was incredibly tempting for my feet. Alas, I didn’t want to ruin the good drinking water either! At least we could fill up and consume it—this was satisfying enough to keep moving.
The walls were really showing off in parts of the gorge. The light and colors were creating a total feast for my eyes—and my camera!
Honestly, this was such an unexpectedly beautiful hike. I saw some photos of Samariá Gorge but I didn’t do too much research and really surprised myself with this one!
The Gates To The End
Our bus driver told us multiple times about “The Iron Gates.” He kept saying when we got to the gates, we’d know it. And then we were almost at the end.
The whole way, we kept asking ourselves “is this the iron gates?” “Oh, that up head, that must be the iron gates, right?!” Each time we were wrong, until we came to what was so obviously the gates!
The Iron Gates at Samariá Gorge are the point where the two sides of the gorge come the closest together. The gap between them at their narrowest point is just 10 feet and the cliffs tower up to a height of 980 feet.
A bridge runs as a path between them since the water is pushed into this narrow point, diminishing the natural trail.
Below is a photo looking back at the Iron Gates after passing between them.
The End Of The Trail
The path was straight forward from there until we reached the end of the trail. Just before we got to the exit, we met a beautiful stray cat that greeted us. What a cute ending!
The hand-written signs congratulated us for reaching the end!
And then we had to turn in our ticket. Yes, at the beginning of the trail we received a ticket that needed to be returned at the end to ensure we paid for entry!
But this wasn’t the end-end. Carolina and I were pretty exhausted by this time. Our feet were throbbing and our knees and bodies were weakened by the harshness of the downhill hike.
People underestimate the toll downhill takes on your body as you fight gravity against falling the whole way! And we underestimated our age! We were not 8 years younger anymore…
We had the option to take a “bus” (which was actually just a large van) the remaining 3km. It would have cost a few euros to do so. But we opted to tough it out and keep walking. We’re not that old yet!
Agia Roumeli
The day was hot, adding to the challenge of the last 3km. But we eventually made it to the town of Agia Roumeli.
This town had a few tourist shops and restaurants. It also had the port area and two beaches—one rocky beach and one sandy beach. A boat launch area next to the pier where the ferry would arrive was the perfect swim spot.
Carolina and I took a short dip there to cool off and soothe our muscles and joints.
This was one of the most refreshing dips I’ve ever taken at the end of a hike! And thankfully there were no jellyfish this time.
After we cooled off, we went to one of the restaurants for a snack, to rest, and get some shade. We were waiting for the timestamp of when our bus driver said he would be waiting for us.
The Boat Ride Back
Eventually we met with the bus driver and he gave us our tickets for the ferry. The ferry arrived at 5:30pm after about 2 hours spent just hanging out around Agia Roumeli.
I had no idea what to expect from this ferry ride. As if the hike wasn’t beautiful enough, the ferry ride took us along Crete’s southern coastline.
The cliffs and beaches and sea caverns were absolutely stunning to observe from the deck of the boat.
If I could do it all over again, I would love to return to Agia Roumeli and rent a kayak to take and explore this coastline. Like, wow!!!!!!!
We arrived at the port of Sougia. There, we boarded our bus back to Chania.
On the way back, we got to once again observe the White Mountains from the bus windows. Now in late-day sunlight, they were just as glorious as when we drove in.
In Conclusion
I am so incredibly grateful that Carolina and I took the bus tour and ferry route option that led us one way downhill through Samariá Gorge.
We saw a maximum of maybe 20 people walking uphill in the opposite direction of us that day. Many of them expressed being a bit disappointed with their decision while only a handful said “it’s great!” All I know is, I was way too tired by the end of this to think about going back uphill. Even the next day, I was too sore to even imagine staying overnight and then going uphill for a whole day back!
The hike was enough of a welcomed challenge going downhill. As such, the overall experience of witnessing this incredible natural site and symbol of Crete made Samariá easily a top 5 hiking experience of my lifetime!
I’ve never actually done a Top 5 Hikes post on this blog. But this was the hike that inspired it for when I write that post one day in the future!
